Sequoia won't write to USB sticks

Question

Level 1

17 points

Sequoia won't write to USB sticks

Just setting up my new Mac Studio with Sequoia 15.3.2. Because the USB-A ports at the rear are dedicated to USB drive hubs, my only practical option are the USB-C ports on the front. I have old sticks for which I bought USB-A > USB-C adapters. Don't work...can't write to them. I can see them. I can read from them. I can copy from them. I ca even delete files on them. Just can't write to them (except on rare cases when it does happen, but I can't reproduce that). I even reformatted one (FAT32) and still can't write to them (2GB, nothing FAT32 can't handle). I thought is was Sequoia and/or my Mac Studio but just discovered that I can't write to them on my older 2019 iMac (Sonoma 14.4.1). I normally used sticks to copy from my scanner to my computer, can't say I ever recall writing to them.

Today I received two new sticks (Sandisk Dual Drive) that have USB-C on one end and USB-A on the other. They are equally wonky.

Found several posts online about Sequoia having issues with USB, but none like mine.

Can somebody corroborate what's going on?

Mac Studio, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 30, 2025 8:13 PM

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Answer 1

lkrupp

Level 7

24,095 points

Apr 21, 2025 7:02 AM in response to Roscoe17

If it works on other user accounts then undoubtedly the problem is in your account. Have you tried restarting your Mac in Safe Mode and test? If things work in Safe Mode but not in normal mode that could indicate a third party app, extension, plugins etc. is the problem. Safe Mode disables all third party software, performs maintenance routines and empties certain caches.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Roscoe17 Author

Level 1

17 points

Apr 2, 2025 8:34 PM in response to Owl-53

Upgraded to 15.4...problem went away. Coincidence? Who knows, but problem no longer exist on my Mac Studio with Sequoia.

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Answer 3

Roscoe17 Author

Level 1

17 points

Apr 20, 2025 10:18 PM in response to Roscoe17

Still an issue. Oddly enough, when I insert a stick it pops up in the Finder Sidebar. When I click on that item I get "“<stick_name” can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found.". If I click on "Roscoe's Mac Studio" it shows a list of all external devices including the USB stick. If I elect the stick from there it works.

On my wife's Profile and my "Migration Assistant" admin profile (that has issues so I created a new Admin profile with the intent to delete this one), the stick's can be accessed from the sidebar as they have for years.

Fix?

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Answer 4

Owl-53

Level 10

105,745 points

Mar 31, 2025 3:45 AM in response to Roscoe17

OP wrote " Today I received two new sticks (Sandisk Dual Drive) that have USB-C on one end and USB-A on the other. They are equally wonky."

I have, probably, the same Sandisk Dual Drive as yours usb-c on one end and usb-a on other end

It is a 128 GB Capacity drive that been used for many years

Sometime formatted Fat 32 sometime exFat and currently Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and sometime APFS format

Using the USB-C connector on the face of the M4 Mac Mini ( not pro ) with Sequoia 15.0 through to and including version 15.3.2

Can read, write, drag and drop to the drive, remove files etc.

The same Sandisk has moved to a M3 MBA and a M2 Mac Mini also running Sequoia 15.0 through to and including version 15.3.2

Not issues using the USB-C or the USB-A connectors

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